More reasons to feed your kids fish: It helps them sleep better and nourishes their nervous system, study finds
02/06/2020 / By Rose Lidell / Comments
More reasons to feed your kids fish: It helps them sleep better and nourishes their nervous system, study finds

Children tend to be very picky eaters, especially when they are served unfamiliar dishes or when they see ingredients that look strange or icky to them, like fish.

However, a study suggests that parents should encourage their kids to eat fish at least once a week, since the superfood helps improve cognition and overall sleep quality.

The study, which appeared in the journal Scientific Reports, was conducted by scientists from the University of Pennsylvania. This is the first study to link fish consumption to improved cognition and sleep.

As part of their research, the team analyzed a sample of 541 children from the China Jintan Cohort Study who were between the ages of nine and 12. The children were tasked with completing a questionnaire about how often they’d eaten fish in the past month.

The researchers also asked the children to take the Chinese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, a general intelligence test intended to measure the cognitive abilities of children. Each child had to undergo six verbal subtests and six non-verbal subtests that assessed their vocabulary, arithmetic skills and coding capabilities, among others.

The children’s parents were involved in the study as well. Specifically, the parents were given the standardized Children Sleep Habits Questionnaire, which included questions about daytime sleepiness and sleep duration. The researchers also took into consideration covariates like the parents’ educational attainment, occupations and marital status when scrutinizing their data.

The researchers found that the children who consumed fish weekly scored 4.8 points higher on the IQ tests than those who reportedly never or rarely ate seafood. Furthermore, the same children who ate fish had fewer sleep disturbances, indicating better sleep quality.

Even the children who only ate fish two to three times a month fared well in comparison to those who rarely did, scoring 3.31 points higher.

Speaking of her team’s findings, Jennifer Pinto-Martin stated that they had great implications on the health impact of fish.

“It adds to the growing body of evidence showing that fish consumption has really positive health benefits and should be something more heavily advertised and promoted. Children should be introduced to it early on,” she told ScienceDaily.com.

Pinto-Martin added that children as young as 10 months old could be fed fish, as long as it no longer has bones and had been chopped up. Two-year-olds should also be encouraged to eat fish.

She explained: “Introducing the taste early makes it more palatable. It really has to be a concerted effort, especially in a culture where fish is not as commonly served or smelled. Children are sensitive to smell. If they’re not used to it, they may shy away from it.”

Adrian Raine, a co-author of the study, echoed her statements. According to him, incorporating fish into a child’s diet is highly beneficial and better for their overall health.

“Doing that could be a lot easier than nudging children about going to bed. If the fish improves sleep, great. If it also improves cognitive performance — like we’ve seen here — even better. It’s a double hit,” said Raine.

How to encourage children to eat fish

  • Children like to dip food, so AskDrSears.com recommends serving dips like hummus and marinara sauce for them to dip pieces of fish into.
  • Fish or fish oil can be mixed into a child’s favorite dish. Start with small amounts then gradually increase them as the child becomes accustomed to the taste of fish.
  • Covering fish with a child’s favorite toppings, such as cheese or mashed potatoes, can make it appear more edible to them.
  • Since children typically love sweet foods, drizzling fish in honey can help.

Read up on more stories about health-promoting foods by visiting FoodCures.news.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

ScienceDaily.com

Nature.com

AskDrSears.com

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